What We Lost
by A Catholic Girl
Summary: Everyone has feelings inside, ones that others never knew of. These feelings are of remembrance and loss. And everyone has a tale of these feelings to admit. Written in response to the Random Characters Challenge, now completed.
1. Cedric's Promise

She admits that at times, she feels guiltily fortunate for having no one dear to her heart lost to the Battles. She had mourned sincerely for Fred at Bill's side, but he was not _her _brother. Her praying for peace and the fervent tears she shed during wartime paid off, Fleur likes to believe.

She also doesn't mind that Harry overshadows her when the topic is of the Triwizard Tournament. When competing against the Boy Who Lived, a Quidditch player, and the most likeable young man at Hogwarts, why would _she _rise to fame among them? Fleur did her best at those challenges, but she is almost ashamed of her coward attitude displayed in them. She was_ not _a weakling, _not _afraid.

Then Victoire finds the old newspaper clippings in the attic, the ones about the Tournament. Her daughter scans them at the kitchen table one day, with Fleur preparing supper nearby, unconscious of what is happening. First read are the lighthearted pieces about the four, recently-minted champions. The most difficult articles to finish come last – these are the ones about the Diggory boy's death, and Harry's claim of You-Who-Know's return. Traumatized, Victoire points one of these out to her mother, asking in a whisper, "Uncle Harry said that he was just killed for _being _there, Maman? Why?"

Her daughter is only twelve years old, home from school for summer holidays. Why she was up in the dusty, dim attic alone is unknown. But Fleur snatches the newspaper away from Victoire, not daring to look at it. Unsure of what to do, she finally shoos Victoire outside to play with her sister and brother. Fleur later places the article back in its faded scrapbook located in the attic. The episode is quickly forgotten, locked away, to be taken out again for a day of memories.

Only weeks later, Fleur is up there again, searching for her wedding gown to show to Victoire and Dominique, who simply '_have _to see Maman's pretty dress'. By mistake, she comes across the scrapbook, and when reaching for a trunk nearby it, her hand knocks down the book. It falls into a spread-eagle position, and the article is laid out on the creaky floorboards. Sighing as she bends to pick it up, Fleur's eyes catch a glimpse of the title – TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT ENDS IN TRADEGY AND FRIGHT – and something tells her to keep reading.

The anguish-filled words trigger her memory of the boy known as Cedric Diggory. Fleur remembers him politely introducing himself and shaking her hand when both of their names were selected out of the Goblet of Fire. She recalls seeing his parents at the Final Task, being filled with excitement in the morning, and then sorrow by nightfall. He went to the Yule Ball with a slender, petite girl, and he never took his eyes away from her once that evening.

Cedric Diggory was a boy who deserved _better._

Now, although she had not truly lost someone in the war, she tells others that she lost something greater than a person.

Fleur lost the promise of a great young man, one who would have contributed something to make a better world…

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_A/N: This was my response to the Random Character Challenge, although I'm planning to take more claims from it and turn this into a multi-chaptered collection of oneshots, so please put this on story alert if you're interested. Reviews are love, of course. Was Fleur written all right? It was my first time writing her..._


	2. Harry's Youth

_A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Enjoy this next one!_

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After the war, life became almost carefree for Harry Potter. Once funerals had passed and tears were dried, he slowly found happiness again. He returned to school for his final year and took his NEWTs without any major difficulties. Only two years later, he had become a full-fledged Auror, and one of the youngest yet.

And Ginny – just watching Ginny come to grips with Fred's death and gradually become emotionally stable again was satisfying enough. He had won her – no longer did he have to worry about her safety and whether she was still alive and well.

He couldn't have been more ecstatic to marry into the Weasley family and then be blessed with seeing it grow over time. The Burrow was now filled to the brim with children more than it ever had, and laughter soaked into the heart of the home once more.

Harry enjoys playing with the children. James, Albus, and Lily are still at the ages where they adore their dad, and the youngest of the extended brood, Lucy, is still only four. His children, nieces, and nephews huddle around him on their broomsticks, waiting eagerly for him to toss the Quaffle up into the air and start the game.

As the ball ascends and the cousins and siblings of all kinds zoom off, Harry wishes that he was still sturdy enough to speed on a broom carelessly. He rubs his stiff arm tenderly, and thinks back to his miserable times at the Dursleys, and then his better but terror-filled days at Hogwarts.

He sees the children fly, and he wants to look for his lost youth.

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_A/N: Please drop off a word or two! And please, could anyone tell me what Andromeda Tonks called her daughter? Was it Tonks, Nymphadora, or Dora?_


	3. Andromeda's Legacy

Andromeda remembers the Saturday afternoons she'd spend with Ted and Nymphadora. Her daughter, a young, scabby girl of nine, would rush ahead of her parents on the road to Hogsmeade, where the family would shop and eat lunch together. Ted would reach over and squeeze his 'Dromeda's hand, and with a charmed smile, he'd point out their little girl tripping clumsily. Andromeda would pretend to be cross with him and then hurry over to help Nymphadora up. Ted would then follow suit, and the trio would walk hand in hand towards the village.

She'd tell her girl stories when they were at Hogsmeade. There were real stories about Andromeda's life, Nymphadora's favorite being the one where her mother 'fell in love with Daddy'. There were make-believe ones, about evil, ugly stepsisters. What Dora never discovered was that these ones were parallel to actual tales of her aunts – Andromeda's two sisters.

She found herself remembering these carefree, peaceful days when Ted ran away – he purposely never told her where and why, but he should have known that his wife was smarter than that – and Nymphadora was off with Remus protecting the Weasleys, even when she was carrying a baby. The two people Andromeda loved most were in the possibility of danger every second of the day. What could she do to protect them, to keep them close like she had been doing for the past twenty-five years?

Then news of her husband's death comes. Her world is an array of confusion and loss. Dora has Teddy soon after, and there is some light again. Having a baby in her midst was like reliving Nymphadora's first few weeks in the world.

Then the worst comes like a full blow to the head. There is a battle, the one that ends it all, at Hogwarts. But she can't be triumphant over it. Nymphadora, her last connection to Ted, and Remus Lupin, her husband, are dead.

She raises her grandson from then on. But Andromeda is not the storytelling woman she was with Dora. Teddy cannot know of these people – his grandfather, his great-aunts. He will question more of their deaths, and he will be exposed to the true horror of the War.

Andromeda won't harm his idyllic childhood dreams. But by doing this, she is losing it. She has lost the legacy Dora and Ted would have spread for her. No one else knew the raw truth. It is gone.

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_A/N: Please review!_


	4. Percy and Cho's Naivety

_A/N: This is a reply to the Random Character Challenge._

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Never did it occur to her that someone would be seriously hurt in the Triwizard Tournament. Some minor scraps and bruises were acceptable and heard of, but something like unconsciousness…or broken bones…she liked to laugh those thoughts off with her friends.

Never did he assume that leaving home would be the worst mistake of his life. He had convinced himself that it was all for the better, that his family would be well even without him there. Something always told him that he was destined to be something greater…

There are screams from the Quidditch field, and she hears the sound of weeping. Rushing down to the field with a flock of students, she pushes past others to see what the trouble is below. Then she sees it, and instantly wishes away the sight from her vision. But it is still here – Harry stooped over Cedric's motionless body, the latter's chest being still, his eyes white…

He soon doesn't recognize himself at times when he's away from home. He yells at innocent others, demands too much, and walks like a king. This is not him. But everything will turn out alright, and everyone will be fine if he ever decides to return…

She pretends that everything is okay after his death, but it's not. You-Know-Who has returned, and they're at war again. She wants to run away from her problems, from the past, from everyone who is talking about her unflatteringly…she doesn't understand! It's not supposed to be this way!

He wants to escape from his family and the Ministry at the same time – he does not know which one he is more afraid of. One of these gives him a sense of power; the other gives him love and belonging. In times like this, which is more important? He tries to comfort himself by saying that it'll all be over soon, that he'll be safe…

By the end of the Final Battle, Percy Weasley and Cho Chang remain strangers to each other, but they are so much alike. Through this war, their naivety has shriveled more and more, until now, when it is finally destroyed.

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_A/N: Please review!_


	5. Hermione's Secret

_A/N: One of my favorites!_

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She remembers pretending to hate him in first year, calling him childish and just awful. She changes her mind when he helps save her, naming him a 'tad heroic'.

She always thought he never cared when she was Petrified in second year. He was lazy, letting Harry do all the work to finding the mystery behind the Petrifiying. She thinks differently when she learns how much he avenged when discovering his sister in danger.

Third and fourth years are when she can't stand him. From teasing her for dropping out of Divination to accusing her of _flirting_ with Viktor, he became the impossible teenage boy she knew he'd be someday. But feelings arrive when she keeps telling herself that she'll never see him the same way again…

Fifth year is different. They are deprived of energy and sleep from studying for OWLs, and there's no time for arguing. But she's still afraid of the feeling, and wants to keep it undercover…

Sixth year – there was only one reason why she'd cry after he started dating Lavender Brown. She loved him, although she feared to admit it. There was a _war _going on, and with Harry Potter as a best friend, both of them were destined for a dangerous mission alongside him…

Seventh – she slowly reveals the truth this year. She holds his hand, smiles at his jokes, and sits beside him just for the sake of it. Then he leaves her and Harry in the middle of nowhere, and her heart is broken. He doesn't love her…he doesn't want her…

The Final Battle was a mix of wild, untamed emotions for her. Voldemort was destroyed. Lupin, Tonks, and Fred were all killed. But one detail she remembers so vividly that it's frightening is that kiss. She couldn't hold it back any longer. She flung at him, pressing her cold lips against his surprised ones. It could have been her last chance to do it. And the lift in her heart she felt when he returned the kiss…she was the luckiest girl in the world.

Hermione Granger had kept a secret during the war, only to lose it in the Final Battle.

She loved Ron Weasley.

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_A/N: Please review!_


	6. Hannah's Best Friend

Daddy was a traveling robe maker, and wasn't home much. Hannah was an only child and if it weren't for Mummy, she would have been completely lonesome in childhood.

Eleanor Abbott was the common housewife, wearing stained aprons over her robes and taking time out of cleaning to read a story with her daughter. Hannah thought the world of her. Her mummy was always smiling, always equipped with a smile and a sweet. They'd run in the meadows behind their house together, making each other crowns of daises to wear to dinner together.

"I love every little thing about you, darling," Eleanor told her daughter prior to her first trip on the Hogwarts Express. "Show all those schoolmates_ you_."

Hannah kept Mummy's words in mind, and because of them, she became friends with Ernie, Justin, and Susan. They're the chums she read of in storybooks with her mother when she was a little girl. The amount of times she giggled in the girls' dormitory with Susan after the lights turned off at night were countless, as were the Chocolate Frog Card trading sessions she had with Justin and Ernie.

But she didn't forget Mummy – she could _never_ forget Mummy. Hannah wrote her every week, and sometimes even more if she had the spare time. Mummy knew of how proud her daughter was to be in Hufflepuff, how terrified she was when Justin was Petrified in second year, and how traumatized the school was in reaction to Cedric Diggory's death. She never expected that Mummy was in danger at their quaint, peaceful cottage on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole.

The news came in sixth year, in the midst of the war. Hannah was called out of class by McGonagall, and the professor spoke to her quietly, almost in a nurturing, sympathetic way.

"I'm sorry, Miss Abbott. Your mother has been…"

She doesn't remember anymore words after that. But Hannah still hears sometimes the thud of her body hitting the floor in shock. She was brought to the hospital wing after that, and only an hour later, Susan had appeared with Hannah's things packed in her trunk. At the time, Hannah was drifting in and out of consciousness, afraid to face the reality of her horror.

When her father, who had been in America on a business trip, came to bring her home, Hannah looked him deeply in the eyes, and saw a stranger.

It was then when she cried, pressing her face against Daddy's robes.

Her best friend of all was gone.

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_A/N: Please review!_


	7. Charlie's Confidence

_A/N: Here's another reply to the Random Characters Challenge. It's not my favorite piece, but I like the first part of it. Enjoy._

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"Charles Septimus Weasley, you loon!" Melissa Goldstein shielded her head from the fat raindrops above with her arms, trying to squint past the rain and see her friend. "You'll catch your death doing that!"

Seventeen-year-old Charlie grinned down at his bewildered teammates as his broom rose to the air. "Don't be such a spoilsport, Mel; let that Snitch free and give me a challenge!"

Melissa stood planted to the grass, stubbornly staying still. "What would your mother say if she saw you doing that?"

Melissa's fellow Chaser, Jenny Kirke, scowled. "Some captain you are, Weasley!"

Fourth-year Oliver Wood, the team's Keeper who idolized Charlie, glanced up to the sky in amusement and inspiration. "Let the man do what he wants! He_ is_ captain…" With a mischievous grin towards his teammates, he dashed to the trunk where the Quidditch balls were kept before Melissa could stop him. Once releasing the Snitch, it flitted through the air so rapidly that the Gryffindors on ground quickly lost track of it. Charlie, however, zoomed off, diverting raindrops like it was a simple feat.

Oliver cheered his beloved captain on, quickly being joined by Charlie's brothers, second-years Fred and George. Melissa, Jenny, and second-year Angelina Johnson – the team's Chasers – murmured among each other if any teachers would scold them for practicing for Saturday's match in the rain. Only minutes later, Charlie emerged from a cloud drift, the golden Snitch struggling in his gloved hand.

The boys whooped and applauded as Charlie landed smoothly on the muddy grass. Jenny and Angelina, giving in, clapped in admiration. Melissa remained stern, and only smiled when Charlie tripped forward – soggy and caked in mud – and pecked her cheek with his cut and bleeding lips.

"You crazy arse," Melissa playfully pushed him away. "When's that confidence level going to fail on you?"

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Charlie arrives in Hogsmeade when the Final Battle is already in process at the school. Entering the Room of Requirement through the Hog's Head, he sees people with bloody wounds and dislocated bones stumble into the area, trying to hide for the time being. He wishes he can stop and help them, but he wants to find his family. The strangers' injuries remain imprinted on his mind as Charlie fights his way through the familiar halls, throwing spells at haphazard Death Eaters around him.

He is hit by a jet of wand light from behind, and it causes him to fall to the ground, his body suddenly growing heavy. Leather boots appear above him, and he glances up to find the power-hungry but yet terrified stiff Draco Malfoy aim his wand at his victim, wanting to kill.

Charlie's life flashes by. He remembers sweet, sweet Melissa, his school sweetheart, and her words so long ago: _When's that confidence level going to fail on you? _

His confidence drains as Draco stands above him, moments away from calling out fatal words.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!"

Draco is, too, hit by a spell and falls to the ground, stiffen. Charlie feels the enchantment's effect wear off, and leaps to his feet as soon as possible. The green on his savior's school tie blazes in his vision. Later, Charlie would identity this young man as Blaise Zabini, a student in Ron's year.

"You're a Slytherin…" Charlie growls, barely heard over the booms and chaos of the surroundings.

Zabini opens his mouth to explain, only for Charlie to run off down another passageway. He won't trust a Slytherin, no matter what. His sureness, his confidence, is completely gone. He remembers the marred students from before, and cringes. He does not know if he'll survive this…

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_A/N: A thank you to Jay (msllamalover) whose Blaise Zabini chapter in 'What I Fought For' gave me the inspiration for Blaise to help save Charlie. :)_

_Please review!_


	8. Astoria's Doubts

"_No_!" Astoria stomps her foot and scowls at Professor Flitwick. "You're _wrong_! I'm _not_ in Ravenclaw!"

Nearby, Daphne passes with her Slytherin friends, and she frowns upon her little sister with a disappointed look. Some of the bigger boys that are with Daphne laugh and point, and Astoria is shocked when her sister doesn't shut them up. Biting her lip hard to prevent herself from crying, Astoria glares at Flitwick once again, eyes expressing her plead.

"I apologize, Miss Greengrass," the professor squeaks. "The Sorting Hat has put you in my House, and the Hat is never incorrect. Now, if you don't mind, let me take you to your dormitory..."

She allows the teacher to lead her away, but Astoria hangs her head in shame. How could she be put in _Ravenclaw_? None of her family had been Sorted into anything other than Slytherin. She fears her parents' reactions, and strongly believes that this time, the Hat _was_ incorrect in Sorting someone…

Then she sees the Slytherins in action, snarling at less confident students and taking their blood status as an advantage. Astoria could never discriminate others because of their background – how could she when coming from a pureblood family and still being in Ravenclaw?

She's scared when Cedric Diggory is killed and Harry Potter claims Voldemort has returned. Astoria is only thirteen when this happens, and returns home that summer to find her parents cold and overpowering.

Daphne supports their mother and father's attitudes ("Voldemort is going to protect us when we follow him, Tori. How could you disapprove?") and Astoria then tries to keep her chin up, and in fourth year, she strongly ignores the recruiting of what she later knows as Dumbledore's Army. She may be in a different House than her family, but Astoria _knows_ she should be in Slytherin…

Then Dumbledore is killed, and Professor Burbage (Astoria always regretted not taking her class, but was too fearful of what her father would say about her in Muggle Studies) is soon finished off as well. Astoria cries over their deaths, when she's away from Daphne and her parents. How could the Death Eaters be so _cruel_?

Astoria does not fight in the Final Battle. Mother had taken her out of school that year – Astoria's sixth – and taught her from home. She remembers Mother and Father rushing to Hogwarts in the middle of the night, having been called by their Dark Lord. They were going to join Daphne there, and the perfect Greengrass trio would fight for their beloved Slytherin House.

The next afternoon, word of the battle causalities arrive. Astoria's former Potions partner, Colin Creevey, was killed, as was one of the Weasleys and Professor Lupin and his wife. Astoria cannot bear it – they didn't deserve death.

Her doubts are gone, and the Sorting Hat is, after all, correct. She is a Ravenclaw - intelligent and gentle and good. Astoria is different, and it's all for the better.

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_A/N: Thanks for all the support! Please review!_


	9. Severus's Smiles

_A/N: A reply to the Random Character Challenge._

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He rarely smiled growing up. What was there to smile at? He fell asleep every night to his parents bickering, and woke to find his father having left and his mother lying unresponsively on the sofa, a bottle of firewhiskey clenched in her hand. Neighborhood children teased him horribly. There was no light in his life until Lily came.

Just seeing her unruly mane of red hair would make him want to laugh and see the good of the world, and when he smiles for the first time at her, he barely recognizes the feeling of the corners of his mouth turning up. She glances at him with questioning green eyes and he grins even more. To have this angel idolize him is unusual at first, but soon it is natural and…wonderful.

When they go to school together, Severus soon predicts his laughter and smiles fading away. He sees damned Potter and his horde of Gryffindor fans, and then spots Lily perched hesitantly at the edge of their group. By fifth year, she is a regular among Potter, Black, and all the rest of them. By seventh year, she and James are a couple. Only two years out of Hogwarts, Severus receives word of their marriage. Gone goes his smile.

He becomes the Potions teacher out of remorse. Dumbledore won't give him the Defense of Dark Arts position – Severus wants to release all his anger and confusion into dark magic, but only Dumbledore knows that he'd just become worse by doing that.

He finds himself snickering evilly sometimes when conversing with dark wizards – his mouth's corners turn up but it's not the same.

Severus almost smiles genuinely one time. He sees first years out in the courtyard on a fall day, twirling in the warmly-colored leaves that have fallen from the Whomping Willow. There's Parvati Patil, and Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas, best of friends only two weeks into their first school term. But it's Lavender Brown that catches the professor's eye. She is laughing, dancing in the grass as leaves catch in her uncombed ebony hair.

For a moment, Severus is reminded of Lily, and his mouth flinches.

After that, he only cries, sorrows, and mourns. There is nothing to smile at.

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_A/N: Please review!_


	10. Lee's Sorrow

_A/N: This is yet another reply to the Random Character Challenge. I apologize for the slight delay in updates._

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"Why, hello Lee," a whimsical voice sounds in his ear, and a mourning Lee Jordan turns to find a petite young woman beside him. "Nice to see you again."

Lee gratefully moves his glance from the chestnut coffin to the girl. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The woman smiles friendlily. "I'm Luna Lovegood, a sixth-year. I've heard you commentate the Quidditch matches nearly every year until you graduated. I commentated a match once, you know. The Nargles weren't out, so it was safe for me to do so."

Lee smiles back unsurely. "Ah. I see."

Luna hands him a goblet of butterbeer. "Here – freshly made."

Lee accepts the drink, and attempts to drown his sorrow in it. But when the last drop of his beverage is swallowed, the reality is still there. Fred, one of his best friends, is still perished from the realm of life. He's still not here.

"Don't be sad, Lee," Luna pipes up, squeezing his arm. "Your friend is in a better place now."

"How did you know…?"

"People can tell you so much when they're in mourning. But you must accept that Fred Weasley is better off where he is now."

Lee scowls. "How can you be so sure? You've never been dead."

"No, I haven't," the bewildering grin still remains plastered onto Luna's pale face. "But I've been told about it. Death is just another life, Lee – only ten times better than life on Earth. It was Fred's time to experience it, and he was Chosen to have it."

He struggles to keep on a straight face. Lee doesn't know what this girl is talking about – Fred's _time_? He was _Chosen_?

"It's true, Lee," Luna continues. "You may not believe it now, but it _is_ true. There's no need for sorrow. You should be happy because Fred doesn't have to suffer. He knows his family and friends will come soon, and he can watch them be happy."

Luna gives him one last beam, and saunters away to the coffin of Colin Creevey – probably to give little Dennis a similar talk. Lee looks back at Fred's coffin, where the Weasleys are circled around, eyes red and faces translucent.

Maybe Luna is right. Fred is better off where he is.

And Lee goes to get another drink, to toss away the last bit of sorrow.

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_A/N: Not my favorite piece, but I liked it. Please review!_


	11. Narcissa's Blindness

_A/N: Another reply to the Random Character Challenge! Please review!_

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Funeral announcements are being made, and Narcissa hears that the Weasley boy's is the first one scheduled. She has been feeling confused about herself lately, wondering if all of this sorrow, all of these heartless tears, are because of her actions and following Lucius in the Dark Lord's path. Her heart is frozen in emotion lately, and she doesn't know what to do. But somehow, she finds herself at Fred Weasley's funeral, out of solace and somewhat regret for his family.

Narcissa lost her family at an early age. Father died in the house fire when she was eighteen, and soon after that, Andromeda purposely disjoined herself from her two sisters to marry Ted Tonks. 'Dromeda wanted to be someone more than a Black, with each one automatically earning a dark reputation because of their surname. Narcissa remembers contemplating her sister's choice, and had wondered if she will ever make a crucial decision like Andromeda's.

But Mother arranged her in a marriage to Lucius, and then paired Bella up with Rodolpus Lestrange. Bellatrix was with Narcissa throughout this entire war – the uncertainty, the power, the strengthening. Now she is gone, and Narcissa feels that she has not lost family, only a longtime acquaintance. She has tried reconciling with Andromeda, who cannot bring herself to speak with her just yet.

And now she is at a Weasley's funeral, the least expected place for her. She sees the redhead ones hug and hold each other's hands to make their way through this. Molly Weasley weeps, and her sons wrap their arms around her while her daughter rests her head upon her shoulder. Arthur Weasley's face is bleary and pale, and his daughter-in-law, the French girl, pats his hand gently. The honorary members of the family, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, do the same to the matriarch and patriarch – comfort them, whisper gently in their ears.

Narcissa leaves the funeral early, because her eyes are becoming red and moist. She has seen how important family is during painful times. Why hasn't she been exposed to it before? It seems so natural with the Weasleys, unlike with her own family.

Her blindness has shed. Family is the most important thing.


	12. Ron's Selfishness

_A/N: Sorry for having such a long wait on updates! Here's one I wrote up in only a few minutes, so it may not be perfect! Please enjoy!_

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He is sure he didn't know how to feel until he tramped through the snow that one winter season, attempting to blend in with the shadows on his way to his brother's cottage. He finds this thought ironic, because he literally couldn't feel his toes on that journey.

That endless night, his mind kept racing to the two he deserted, his best friends - one perhaps being more than a friend nowadays. He never thought he'd leave them in favor of warmth and food – real, seeping amounts of food that he always loved. Life was cruel that way, tossing curves at people every now and then.

Mum used to become angry at his laziness and lack of emotion. "Really, Ronald!" her raw, careworn hands would be perched on her hips, a scowl upon her face. "Do you actually believe you'll get anywhere with that sense of attitude?"

He was a child then. Children were supposed to make mistakes, and then learn from them and avoid their repeats in adult life.

However, he wasn't sure what this was. A mistake or the correct choice? Abandoning his friends or doing what was best for them?

He makes it that night, and collapses into his brother's front hall frostbitten and shivering. His sister-in-law exclaims in French and hurries to warm him. Bill tries to talk secrets out of him, but he remains silent, too cold to speak. Plus, he can't tell him, even if he wanted to.

Christmas comes, and he sits down to a home cooked meal, aching to tend to his stomach's hungry growls.

They have nothing decent to eat there.

After dinner, he sits in front of a crackling fire and its heat waves envelope his body in warmth.

They only have a wand's scarce fire supply there.

Night arrives and he lies in a soft bed, his head sinking into the pillow.

They have poorly-sewn blankets there.

He gets little sleep that night, questioning what to do.

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By the time December 26 dawns, Bill and Fleur Weasley wake to find their guest bedroom empty, a dirty plate on the kitchen table, and Ron Weasley gone.

The lady of the house appears worried, but Bill calms her with simple words.

"He'll be fine, Fleur," Bill sits down quietly at the kitchen table, the remains of his brother's breakfast in front of him. "My kid brother has finally done something for others. He's a man now."

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_A/N: Was that ending too abrupt? Please tell me if so!_

_Please review! _


	13. Ginny's Impatience

"Mum looks so young here," Lily jabbed her finger in the corner of a dated photograph in her grandmother's scrapbook, smiling at the yellowed silhouette. "They all do."

Her grandmother, whose fiery red hair finally showed evidence of age, sighed nostalgically, peering down at the photo. "Yes, they do." Her eyes flickered over the third boy from the left for a lingered moment, and she relished in the face she saw quite often, but wished for the personality she hadn't seen in over a good twenty years. Turning away from the moment captured in time, Molly Weasley eyed her granddaughter closely.

"You look just like her, you know."

"Really?" the thirteen-year-old appeared doubtful as she stared back at her mother from so long ago. "Possibly…but we're not the same inside, are we?"

Molly leaned back on the sofa, sizing up Lily's ponder. "I suppose not, dear. Your mother was always more…anxious and impatient than you are."

"Impatient?" Lily's eyebrows rose. "Mum is the most patient person I know."

"Things changed for her when she began school," Molly explained, smiling when remembering how her daughter had developed into a young woman by the time she was about sixteen. "This picture here…" Molly motioned towards the photograph the two had in front of them, embodying five children – four boys, all in black robes, and a girl, with a lonesome expression plastered on her face. "…was taken on your uncle Ron's first day of school. Your mother wouldn't start at Hogwarts until the next September."

"And?"

Molly chuckled a little. "I remember how angry she was with your uncle, because he was leaving her alone with Granddad and I. But other than that, she was so eager to start school. She tried to stow away on the Hogwarts Express."

Both laughed, and Molly continued.

"That entire year, whenever I saw her, she seemed to be hopping for no particular reason…because she was bored, I believe. Your mother was quite naïve for her age then, and kept asking me if she did her chores, would she be allowed to go off to school."

"She sounds like a real pain," Lily answered brutally.

"Lily Luna!" Molly feigned sternness, but inside she was wholeheartedly agreeing. "Anyways, her time to go off to school finally came, but once there, she always wanted more than she had. She had an awful crush on your father, if I do say so, and wouldn't give up on him."

"That sounds a little like me," Lily replied slyly, slightly blushing.

Molly smiled anyways, patting her granddaughter's hand. "You know how your parents dated in their sixth and fifth years?"

Lily nodded. "They broke up after Dumbledore's funeral."

"Well, Ginny took that blow better than we all expected. That entire summer, she acted very secretive and strange. By August, your father had gone off with your aunt and uncle, and no one knew where.

"Your grandfather was worried for your mother then. He thought she'd go mad over not having the three with her, especially your father. But your mother stayed calm. It seemed like she was telling herself that he'd return someday, to be with her."

"That's so romantic."

"Yes," Molly beamed, having turned the page in the photo album to find a snapshot of the bridal party at her eldest son's wedding. "You see, your mother grew up and gained patience as she did. She became strong enough to wait for your father."

"That explains why she can wait so long now," Lily rested her chin in her hand promptly. "She waited long enough for Dad, and can do it with anything now."

"Waiting nine months each for a new baby," Her grandmother had flipped to the end of the book, showing off three different photos of a pregnant Mum, first with James, then Albus, and finally Lily. "A woman certainly needs patience for _that_."

"Would you say I'm impatient, Grandma?" Lily said. "Or am I like Mum?"

"I can't say," Molly smiled knowingly, placing the photo album aside. "You might grow into it, just like she did."

* * *

_A/N: Please review!_


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